Nominees from Brazil, Indonesia, Ireland Receive WOCCU Digital Growth, Distinguished Service Awards
Second WOCCU Fellowship class also announced at 2024 Annual General Meeting
July 23, 2024
BOSTON—World Council of Credit Unions’ (WOCCU) Board of Directors on Monday presented annual awards for digital growth and distinguished service to credit union organizations and individuals from Brazil, Indonesia and Ireland at its Annual General Meeting held during the 2024 World Credit Union Conference.
2024 Digital Growth Awards went to Pusat Koperasi Credit Union Indonesia (PUSKOPCUINA) and SICOOB (Brazil) for implementing digital solutions that promote financial inclusion, innovation and scalability.
PUSKOPCUINA, the credit union federation for Indonesia and a member of the Asian Confederation of Credit Unions, won for the development of ESCETE, which encompasses a cloud-based core banking solution, personalized mobile banking for individual members and an innovative e-commerce platform where SME members can market and sell their products.
SICOOB, a Brazilian credit union system and WOCCU Associate Member, won a Digital Growth Award for developing and implementing Sipag 2.0, a digital system that allows micro and small businesses in rural areas to accept electronic payments at an affordable cost, allowing them to expand their customer reach and increase sales.
First awarded in 2021, the Digital Growth Award is presented annually to recognize one or more member credit union associations or individual member credit unions. A panel of independent digitalization experts selected by WOCCU judged all nominations and selected this year's recipients.
O’Sullivan, Jardim receive Distinguished Service Awards
WOCCU presented Timothy “Ted” O’Sullivan (Ireland) and Arnaldo Jardim (Brazil) with 2024 Distinguished Service Awards at the AGM.
Nominated by the Irish League of Credit Unions (ILCU), O’Sullivan spent the last 15 years volunteering for ILCU’s International Development Foundation by providing support and mentoring to credit union movements in Belize, Ethiopia, Ghana, Sierra Leone and Uganda. He also delivered numerous training sessions on PEARLS, WOCCU’s tool that helps credit unions determine their financial health.
“I’ve derived tremendous job satisfaction from those projects. The success of those projects is when you return after a few years and see your work bearing fruit. It’s more satisfaction than any other job I’ve ever had,” said O’Sullivan.
Nominated by Sicredi, Jardim has been active in advocacy and climate change projects on behalf of cooperatives in Brazil and greater Latin America. He notably served as an important spokesperson for credit unions during discussions that culminated in their appropriate tax treatment in Brazil’s Tax Reform Act of 2023.
“I salute, court and celebrate credit unions as a global movement that transcends borders, unites communities and promotes sustainable and inclusive development around the world,” said Jardim.
First presented in 1986, the Distinguished Service Award recognizes WOCCU member organizations and individuals for their outstanding contributions to credit union development outside their home country.
2024 WOCCU Fellows Announced
WOCCU also announced Charity Abraham (Ghana) and Laurensius Tony (Indonesia) as its 2024 Fellows, who will serve as observers to the Board of Directors through the July 2025 meeting.
Abraham and Tony were selected from a pool of 20 applicants from 12 countries. They will attend and participate in three WOCCU Board meetings over a one-year period, beginning in fall of 2024. Their travel expenses, including airfare, hotel and local transportation, will be covered by WOCCU, including registration to attend the 2025 World Credit Union Conference.
As Board observers, they will receive all material information provided to members of the Board but will not have formal voting rights during the Board of Directors’ meetings. They will also receive mentorship from members of the WOCCU Board, or from members of the WOCCU or Worldwide Foundation for Credit Unions’ staff.
Still to come
The 2024 World Credit Union Conference continues with Tuesday morning’s general session, featuring the announcement of and a speech from World Council of Credit Unions’ new Board Chair, and a keynote address from Rene Carayol.
Follow conference activities and see daily event photos on Facebook, X (Twitter), LinkedIn and Instagram with #WCUC2024.
Presented in collaboration with the America’s Credit Unions, the 2024 World Credit Union Conference runs through Wednesday, July 24.
World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU) is the apex association for credit unions and other global financial cooperatives. World Council promotes the sustainable development of credit unions and other financial cooperatives around the world to empower people through access to high quality and affordable financial services. World Council advocates on behalf of the global credit union system before international organizations and works with national governments to improve legislation and regulation. Its technical assistance programs introduce new tools and technologies to strengthen credit unions' financial performance and increase their outreach.
World Council has implemented 300+ technical assistance programs in 90 countries. Worldwide, 74,634 credit unions in 104 countries serve 411 million people. Learn more about World Council's impact around the world at www.woccu.org.
Organization: World Council of Credit Unions
E-mail: gneumann@woccu.org
Phone: +1 608-395-2048
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